Golf

Ryder Cup: Player-by-player guide to Team Europe

Pádraig Harrington has just three rookies in the ranks for match at Whistling Straits

European captain Pádraig Harrington. Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images

Mon Sep 20 2021 - 06:00

Jon Rahm (Spain)

Age: 26

Ryder Cup appearances: 1

Image 1 of 12

Lee Westwood. Photo Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

Record: Won 1, Lost 2, Halved 0

Majors: 1

READ MORE

Won his first major title at Torrey Pines in June, just 15 days after being forced to withdraw from the Memorial Tournament when leading by six shots after 54 holes due to a positive Covid test. Also missed the Olympics after testing positive again. Won just one of his three matches in Paris in 2018 but it was a vital one, beating Tiger Woods in the singles.

Lee Westwood (England)

Age: 48

Ryder Cup appearances: 10

Record: Won 20, Lost 18, Halved 6

Majors: 0

Had to settle for being a vice-captain in 2018, ending his streak of 10 straight appearances. However, victory in Abu Dhabi in 2020 helped him win the Race to Dubai for the third time. Second in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship in March but eventually held on to the final qualifying place by just 9.3 points.

Bernd Wiesberger (Austria)

Age: 35

Ryder Cup appearances: 0

Record: Debut

Majors: 0

Looked set to move into the automatic qualifying places by winning the Omega European Masters, only to double bogey the 72nd hole and lose by a shot. Went into the final qualifying event needing at least a top-50 finish to make the team and recovered from being three over par after six holes on day one to finish in a tie for 20th.

Sergio Garcia (Spain)

Age: 41

Ryder Cup appearances: 9

Record: Won 22, Lost 12, Halved 7

Majors: 1

A talismanic figure for Europe, so much so that he was brought in as a vice-captain by Colin Montgomerie in 2010 despite becoming disenchanted with golf and taking a two-month break from playing. Was out of form when given a wild card in 2018 but justified it in style with three wins from four matches to become Europe’s leading points scorer in the contest.

Shane Lowry (Ireland)

Age: 34

Ryder Cup appearances: 0

Record: Debut

Majors: 1 (2019 Open)

Went into the last event in the final automatic qualifying place but was pushed out by Wiesberger and was unable to finish in the top eight to displace Westwood, starting the final round in a tie for seventh but only managing a closing 71. Made no secret of his desire to qualify, but was keen to qualify on merit and save his good friend Harrington from having to give him a wild card.

Ian Poulter (England)

Age: 45

Ryder Cup appearances: 6

Record: Won 14, Lost 6, Halved 2

Majors: 0

Nicknamed ‘The Postman’ because he always delivers a point, he was forced to settle for a vice-captaincy role in 2016 due to injury and looked to have lost his PGA Tour card in 2017 before a mistake in the way his points had been calculated was spotted. Without a win since the 2018 Houston Open, he missed the cut in the final qualifying event at Wentworth.

Paul Casey (England)

Age: 44

Ryder Cup appearances: 4

Record: Won 4, Lost 3, Halved 5

Majors: 0

Returned to the side after a 10-year absence in Paris in 2018 after being given a wild card by captain Thomas Bjorn. Won one of his two fourball matches alongside Tyrrell Hatton and halved with four-time major winner Brooks Koepka in the singles. Won the Dubai Desert Classic in January and lost out in a play-off for the bronze medal in the Olympics.

Matt Fitzpatrick (England)

Age: 27

Ryder Cup appearances: 1

Record: Won 0, Lost 2, Halved 0

Majors: 0

Endured an unhappy debut at Hazeltine in 2016, sitting out the opening day and then losing his foursomes match with Henrik Stenson before being sent out last in the singles and suffering a 4&3 defeat to Zach Johnson. Won the DP World Tour Championship for the second time in December 2020 and lost out in a playoff for the Scottish Open in July.

Tyrrell Hatton (England)

Age: 29

Ryder Cup appearances: 1

Record: Won 1, Lost 2, Halved 0

Majors: 0

Won for the first time on the PGA Tour in March 2020 at the prestigious Arnold Palmer Invitational and then claimed the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in October. Started 2021 with victory in Abu Dhabi to effectively secure a second Ryder Cup appearance. Won one of his two matches alongside Paul Casey in Paris before losing to Patrick Reed in the singles.

Tommy Fleetwood (England)

Age: 30

Ryder Cup appearances: 1

Record: Won 4, Lost 1, Halved 0

Majors: 0

Made his debut in 2018 and partnered Francesco Molinari to four wins, three of them against a pairing containing Woods. Ran out of steam in the singles and was beaten 6&4 by Tony Finau. Will also need a new partner in Wisconsin with Molinari not making the team. Looked to be hitting form at the right time with second place in the penultimate qualifying event in Italy.

Rory McIlroy (Ireland)

Age: 32

Ryder Cup appearances: 5

Record: Won 11, Lost 9, Halved 4

Majors: 4

Won for the first time since 2019 at the Wells Fargo in May. Had a chance to win the US Open before eventually finishing seventh and also missed out in the seven-man playoff for Olympic bronze. Admits he ran out of steam in his epic singles contest against Patrick Reed in 2016 and also lost to Justin Thomas in Paris, so Harrington may be wise to rest him from one of the sessions.

Viktor Hovland (Norway)

Age: 23

Ryder Cup appearances: 0

Record: Debut

Majors: 0

The first Norwegian to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup, Hovland has enjoyed a rapid rise up the world rankings since turning professional thanks to two wins on the PGA Tour and a maiden European Tour title in the BMW International in June. Was undefeated in the Jacques Leglise Trophy in 2015 and won the US Amateur Championship in 2018.